Bill Text: TX HB1859 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Comm Sub

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relating to the regulation of air conditioning and refrigeration contracting, including eligibility for an air conditioning and refrigeration technician registration or certification.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 5-2)

Status: (Passed) 2023-06-02 - Effective on 9/1/23 [HB1859 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB1859-Comm_Sub.html

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By: Schaefer, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Perry) H.B. No. 1859
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 26, 2023;
April 26, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on
Business & Commerce; May 10, 2023, reported favorably by the
following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 2; May 10, 2023, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of air conditioning and refrigeration
contracting, including eligibility for an air conditioning and
refrigeration technician registration or certification.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1302.002(5-c), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(5-c) "Certification training program" means:
(A) a career and technology education program
described by Section 1302.5037; or
(B) a program of education and training that[:
[(A)] is accepted or approved by the
department[;] and
[(B)] consists of at least 2,000 hours of a
combination of:
(i) classroom instruction:
(a) at a secondary school;
(b) at an institution of higher
education, as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code; or
(c) in an apprenticeship program
accepted by the department; and
(ii) practical experience in air
conditioning and refrigeration-related work under the supervision
of a licensed air conditioning and refrigeration contractor.
SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 1302, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 1302.1015 to read as follows:
Sec. 1302.1015. RULES REGARDING RENEWAL FEE AND CONTINUING
EDUCATION EXEMPTIONS FOR CERTAIN LICENSE OR CERTIFICATION HOLDERS.
The commission shall adopt rules waiving any applicable renewal fee
and providing for a reduction in the number of hours of continuing
education required to renew an air conditioning and refrigeration
contractor license or air conditioning and refrigeration
technician certification for a person who provides instruction in a
career and technology education program described by Section
1302.5037.
SECTION 3. Section 1302.502, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1302.502. EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN STUDENTS. A person is
not required to be registered or certified under this subchapter to
act or offer to act as an air conditioning and refrigeration
technician if the person:
(1) is a student in a certification training program
who acts or offers to act as an air conditioning and refrigeration
technician solely as part of the program; and
(2) is[:
[(A) younger than 18 years of age; or
[(B)] enrolled at a secondary school or an
institution of higher education, as that term is defined by Section
1302.5037.
SECTION 4. Section 1302.503, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1302.503. SUPERVISION REQUIREMENTS FOR TECHNICIANS
AND MINORS. (a) An air conditioning and refrigeration technician
must be supervised by an air conditioning and refrigeration
contractor licensed under this chapter.
(b) A person who is younger than 18 years of age and acting
or offering to act as an air conditioning and refrigeration
technician must at all times work under the direct supervision of a
licensed air conditioning and refrigeration contractor or a
certified air conditioning and refrigeration technician.
SECTION 5. Section 1302.5035(a), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) An applicant for a technician registration under this
subchapter must be at least 16 [18] years old.
SECTION 6. Section 1302.5036, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1302.5036. CERTIFICATION ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.
To be eligible for an air conditioning and refrigeration technician
certification, an applicant must:
(1) be at least 18 years old;
(2) have completed:
(A) [in the preceding 48 months] a certification
training program; or
(B) 24 months of air conditioning and
refrigeration-related work:
(i) under the supervision of a licensed air
conditioning and refrigeration contractor; or
(ii) as part of the applicant's military
occupational specialty within the armed forces of the United
States; and
(3) have passed a competency examination
administered, recognized, or accepted by the department.
SECTION 7. Subchapter K, Chapter 1302, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 1302.5037 to read as follows:
Sec. 1302.5037. CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR
TECHNICIAN CERTIFICATION; INSTRUCTORS. (a) In this section:
(1) "Career and technology education program" means:
(A) a career and technology education program
under Subchapter F, Chapter 29, Education Code; or
(B) a program determined by the department to be
similar to that described by Paragraph (A) and offered by:
(i) an institution of higher education; or
(ii) a private school, as defined by
Section 5.001, Education Code.
(2) "Institution of higher education" means an
institution of higher education or a private or independent
institution of higher education, as those terms are defined by
Section 61.003, Education Code.
(b) The department shall recognize a career and technology
education program as a certification training program for purposes
of Section 1302.5036.
(c) The commission by rule shall establish standards for the
essential knowledge and skills of a career and technology education
program described by Subsection (a), subject to the approval of the
State Board of Education if the courses are to be offered in a high
school. The rules must:
(1) require the program to consist of an appropriate
number of hours of classroom instruction and a practical component;
and
(2) provide for crediting appropriate on-the-job
training toward meeting the requirements of the practical
component.
(d) A person may not provide instruction in a career and
technology education program unless the person is:
(1) a licensed air conditioning and refrigeration
contractor; or
(2) a certified air conditioning and refrigeration
technician whose certification was issued on or after September 1,
2018.
(e) A career and technology education program offered by an
institution of higher education may not be more stringent than a
program offered by a public high school.
SECTION 8. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation shall
adopt rules necessary to implement the changes in law made by this
Act to Chapter 1302, Occupations Code.
SECTION 9. In developing the initial standards for the
career and technology education program under Section
1302.5037(c), Occupations Code, as added by this Act, the Texas
Commission of Licensing and Regulation shall consult with Texas
State Technical College and relevant interest groups in the air
conditioning and refrigeration industry.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
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